Klipsch RP-600M Speakers: Redefining the Audio Value Proposition

This blog has now been updated; you can view this updated post here.

Klipsch is one of America’s oldest names in HiFi audio. Started in 1946 in a tin shed in Hope, Arkansas, by Paul Klipsch, the company has been finely honing its patented horn-based designs for decades. Paul Klipsch’s goal was to recreate the sound of live music in the home, and it remains the guiding principle of the company to this day.

Klipsch speakers have always had a forward, lively sound, one that holds true to the company's goal of audio that sounds like you are really in the room listening to the artist record music. It tends to be a sound that you feel, with deep bass and high frequencies that remind you of a live performance and not something that has been filtered in some way.

Today, Klipsch is still headquartered in the U.S., and the Hope, Arkansas, shed is the site of the factory that produces classic speakers like the Klipschorn or the Klipsch Heritage Series. Klipsch Audio Technologies now manufactures speakers at a variety of price points and also owns the brands Jamo, Athena, Mirage, and Energy. The company understands how to build both high-end and lower-end speakers that outperform their price points – and usually people's expectations as well.

Klipsch’s newly redesigned Reference Premiere RP-600M bookshelf speaker is a case in point. Its performance has surprised and astounded professional reviewers considering its amazingly affordable price of $550 a pair.

If you are looking to upgrade your HiFi stereo system in the Vinings area or are looking to build one in your home without spending next month’s mortgage payment, let’s take a closer look at the RP-600M.

Design

The RP-600M is a medium-sized bookshelf speaker that plays louder and harder than its size would suggest. It features the same construction as many other larger speakers, featuring a rigid MDF cabinet, 6.5-inch cerametallic cone woofer, and the trademark Klipsch Tractrix Horn titanium tweeter. It has dual binding posts for bi-wiring or bi-amping. The cabinets are finished in elegant furniture-grade ebony vinyl, walnut, and a special multi-coat gloss piano black, so they'll fit with any décor. A nice touch are the strong but flexible magnetic grills; many speakers at this price point have holes for peg-mounted grills. But you may just want to leave the grills off, as these speakers look far more premium than their price with the copper woofers, satin finished baffle, and copper anodized trim rings.

Performance

The RP-600M speaker punches far above its weight class. Like all Klipsch horn designs, this is a very efficient speaker at 98db sensitivity. It means you don’t need expensive amplification to make it sound its best. If you are a fan of the warm sound of low-power tube amps with your vinyl records, this speaker will still play loud and clean with that. But it can also take up to 400 watts of peak power, so a high-power amp will make it sing even more.

We can tell you a lot about this speaker, but the ultimate test is to hear it for yourself, especially with electronics that are similar to yours. This is a speaker that will sound superb with a midrange stereo or home theater receiver, a 10-watt tube amp, or a separate preamp and amplifier combo, but each of those combinations will bring out different nuances in the sound. You can draw some conclusions from expert reviewers like Herb Reichert of Stereo Review: “A speaker this inexpensive isn’t supposed to be this good. It isn’t rational. The Klipsch Reference Premiere RP-600M isn’t just a great speaker for its price, or for horn-loving Klipsch Kids - it’s way better than that.” Steve Guttenberg of C|Net’s Audiophiliac blog calls it a “speaker that’s hard to stop listening to” and named it the Audiophiliac Speaker of the Year.

Come listen to the fantastic sound of the Klipsch RP-600M for yourself at our Marietta showroom. We think you’ll agree it belongs in your next HiFi stereo system for your Vinings-area home’s listening room.

Give us a call at (770) 955-8909 or reach out to us here to get in touch with our team of Klipsch experts today!